Communities around the projects of Cyrela also have special attention from the Company, which considers not only the mitigation of impacts caused by its local operations, but also the participation in social and environmental matters. Every time the Company builds a new project, the surrounding area benefits from appreciation.
Before starting each construction, the Company holds meetings with representative entities of the communities and NGOs in order to know and detect the main needs of the neighborhood and offer partnerships to help solving them. Thus, Cyrela has been involved in several social and environmental actions, such as the revitalization of squares, implementation of daycare centers, partnerships with schools, cleaning of rivers, and others.
Some recent examples are the projects “Luzes da Mooca”, Camino and Mood. The first one, launched in October, 2010, will preserve and value – through a special lighting system – the chimney of the old facilities of Companhia União dos Refinadores (Açúcar União), which is a symbol of the industrialization of the traditional working neighborhood of Mooca in São Paulo, taken as historic site. In the neighborhood of Belém, central neighborhood of São Paulo, Cyrela built two squares and revitalized a third one next to project Camino. Project Mood, downtown São Paulo, was painted with graffiti in a partnership with Projeto Quixote NGO, which has expanded in the area, renovating sidewalks and bringing a new landscaping concept. Overall, those are more than 30 projects with urban interventions along last years.
For revitalizing squares, Cyrela plants trees of new species or plants cultivated directly in its own area, with over 100 thousand square meters, created in a partnership with a landscaping company, providing plants to sales stands. Besides preserving the recovering plants, the yard also produces seeds for use and distribution. Currently there are over 2 thousand plants from 50 native species available.
The Company also prioritizes the contracting of local suppliers whenever feasible. In addition to logistic gains, this brings results to the surrounding communities and minimizes the environmental impact caused by traffic of trucks and other transporting vehicles.
Programa Alfabetização Solidária (“Solidary Literacy Program”), who benefited 49 people from communities in 2010, is another successful social responsibility action focused on education and carried out by Cyrela.
The Company also develops parallel inclusion programs, such as Mulher na Obra (“Women in Construction’s”), which is aimed at supplying the labor demands in operational areas. With a social focus, the project allows for inserting women into the civil construction industry, teaching how to build walls, apply plaster and tile finishing, in addition to general cleaning tasks. Some of Cyrela and Living regional branches are taking the first steps in hiring women to reinforce the construction sites teams.
